While various real games have been modeled electronically, the electronic versions suffer the disadvantage that they lose the important physical characteristics that players are used to. For example, a person playing an electronic version of monopoly cannot move the game pieces around the board, receive and pay out money, roll the dice, or pick up and discard property deeds. Electronic card games do not let the players hold the hand that they are playing. Such electronic games can be played by players at remote sites, through the use of the telecommunications network, but the quality of the game playing experience is lessened by the inability to interact with real physical objects associated with the game.
Various multimedia or telepresence systems, have been developed to let persons at remote locations communicate and interact in a realistic way. They can speak with each other, see each other, send handwriting in two directions, or share programs with each other. The people at each location can each have the same physical game apparatus available at their location, and attempt to physically manipulate the game objects as the game progress, as they would if they were in the same location. However, such an arrangement precludes secret distribution (dealing) of cards, without the intervention of a third (neutral) party. Also, input to such systems is typically limited to actions with either a keyboard or a "mouse", so that such systems do not solve the problem of lack of physical connection to the game.
Certain other systems have been developed to play chess.